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DJTJ 2005

Posted 20 May 2005 - 05:11 PM

DJTJ 2005

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4 posts

Hello, thank you for being out there!!!

First to get started, I have a Dell Dimension 8300 (Don't know if this is good or bad, but its what I have to I'm sticken to it). I want to be a Portable DJ and want to know what hardware to use. (I know what your thinking, use a laptop! I can't afford a laptop at the moment, so I have a pimped out rolling cart made from wood)

It runs XP. I have an integrated digital soundcard. I want a better one, but don't have a lot of money. Is there a cheap external soundcard out there?

Second, I only have 20GB Hard Space left on my Hard Drive. 15GB of it is taken up by music. Should I purchase more, and then if so what should I purchase?

Third, How do I get my music using PCDJ FX VRM 7.0 from my computer out into the crowd? I need speakers, I know that, but how to get it from my PC to the Speakers?

By the way, I'm only going to be a Wedding DJ or Party DJ and nothing more.

Any other help would be great!!!

Thanks a bunch.

Soon to be...

DJTJ

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audioboy

Posted 20 May 2005 - 09:35 PM

audioboy

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857 posts

to do this type of stuff on the cheap, go to guitar center, or online with musicians friend.
cheapest "pro" level internal or external sound cards are around $100.
you will need a mixer, to plug the computer sound output to, and also to add at least one mic for announcements, etc.
you can get a powered mixer, which has onboard amps to drive the speakers. these also usually have some minimal onboard graphic EQ, to compensate for the sound problems in the room.
you will need PA speakers and stands.

even if you do all this buying low end components, your still looking at a minimum of $600. and that would be a cheap system to do a small to medium room. want big bass? add subwoofers, another amp, crossover system, more speaker cables.

I only mention this because it is expensive to get into that line of work, and it can be hard to get enuf gigs to pay it off, much less turn a profit.
so, if you want, have at it, and good luck!

Model #: ST3120026A Item #: N82E16822148022 (not sure what latency means, but is all this good for speed to keep up with my music? ; by the way what is an HDD Card? Do I need one? I'll have a total of 160 GB of space then on my computer if I purchase this.)

audioboy

Posted 22 May 2005 - 04:07 PM

audioboy

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857 posts

that hard drive should be just fine.
what do you have in your PC right now, in terms of hard drives and optical drives (CD, DVD)? assuming you have 1 hdd right now, you could add a second drive, on the same IDE cable, and be good.
you shouldnt need a hdd card (promise card usually) unless you are already full on hard drives...

NOW- I must ask, if you wanna go with a DJ setup like that, cool. do you need to haul the comp out to gigs then? that dj setup will do what you would need, mix back and forth between the cd players, has mic in, plus other line ins for extra sources if you needed. why not haul that (already in a road case!) and leave the PC at home? burn any tracks you need onto standard cd's, play em on the players.

with that setup, all you would need is amp and speakers, or powered speakers.
go that route, dont need another hard drive, or sound card.

let me know your thoughts, and Ill give you specifics on comp stuff if you still want it.

DJTJ 2005

Posted 22 May 2005 - 06:24 PM

DJTJ 2005

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Topic Starter

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4 posts

Thanks Audioboy, you just saved me 15% on my car insurance rate. JK YOU DID SAVE ME from keeping the audiocard I just bought. Whew, cost me $211 bucks, now I can return that and use that money towards the DJ Case and some Blank CD's....

By the way? What kind of CD's do ya think I should buy? Cause I've had problems with regular blank CD's in the past where they don't have as good of quality. I wasn't buying the "Audio" CD-Rs I was just buying regular blank disks as cheap as they come.

Plus thats a lot of music to put on CDs, I have a wedding gig in a month. I have a few thousand songs. What is your suggestion? Put my time and effort into burning CD's as fast as I can to make my life easier for the gig? Or for this gig in a month should I just use my computer this time and do some buring later. If I use the computer you know, then I'll need a soundcard that will support IN/OUT to the mixer board. Ah! So little time, so much to do!

Hemal

Posted 22 May 2005 - 06:31 PM

Hemal

Founding Fart

Technician

1,470 posts

If you want to spend that money you could buy an Ipod or such Acutally i would recommend the computer, much better then cd's and its easier to find music and such, you might be able to buy specific CD's for audio only, but i dont think it makes a big difference then what you may have now

audioboy

Posted 22 May 2005 - 06:59 PM

audioboy

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Member

857 posts

ok, that changes things some...if its all on the PC, and its that much, may want to keep it there.
in that case, first you will want to find a program that can do mixing on the PC. its just like a dj setup, loading songs on each side, mixing between them. I cant remember what its called!
then go for a good stereo sound card, something like the echo MIA card (think the current incarnation is the MIA MIDI). stereo I/O, pro level signal, about $150.

audioboy

Posted 22 May 2005 - 08:18 PM

audioboy

Member

Member

857 posts

ok, I didnt realize you already had a massive collection of songs on the comp. it may well be easier to go the pc route then for the gig, assuming you can find that program or another like it for playing the songs...its gonna irritate me until I remember what it is....urg...

the main reason Im not wild about hauling a desktop pc to a gig is, if something comes loose, your dead. desktops werent meant to be hauled around a lot...the dj setup is designed for that.some dj type cd players support mp3 disc playback, so thats something to consider, but I dont know how easy it is to find tracks quickly on them. since they can hold 10 albums of material, navigating to a song could be slow and clunky.

I dont normally go into sound system design for free, I have my own business doing sound work, but I will in this case only. I am keeping it on the cheap side, with a couple of exceptions. besides the sound card, skip to the end for the cheapest way to go...

I will use links from musicians friend, since I know their site. shop around, you might find a better deal.

Echo Mia is the card I recommend, its high quality, has professional balanced I/O. more on that later.

mixer-Behringer has several small size mixers. this one is super cheap. go up to the 10/02 if more channels are needed. these are cheap mixers, and very hit or miss on individual unit quality.

Soundcraft is much better quality. this mixer looks pretty cool to me, I might buy one myself just for my computer sound I/O!

Mackie makes the better quality small mixers, but they cost more. look at the 1202 or the 1402.or consider a dj type mixer for the cross fade slider (if you need it- fades can be done using regular sliders, its just not as user friendly). just make sure it has balanced outs!

the advantage of balanced audio is that its a hotter signal, has better noise rejection, and can go on longer runs. there are 3 conductors instead of 2. its pro level. thats why I suggest the echo card, and it uses 1/4 inch balanced plugs, which you can buy easily, and plug straight into the mixer without needing adaptors.

you will want a mic for announcements, MC'ing, hype, etc. theres lots of cheaper ones, but I stand by the SM58. spend the extra bucks for an industry standard mic in this case.dont forget a mic cord, and maybe a mic stand.

you will need an amp and speakers. there are options galore here. if you dont mind the extra weight in the speakers go with powered speakers. amp in built it, which is much more efficient. Mackie 450's are easily the best. they cost, but its worth it.use mic cords or 1/4 inch cables to connect mixer to powered speakers.otherwise, go with a separate amp and passive speakers. tons of options there. dont forget speaker cables if this route is taken.

you may need speaker stands to get the sound up over peoples heads, so it projects.

you will probably also want a graphic EQ to put between the mixer and the amp/speakers. this is to fix room acoustics, and kill feedback on the mic.this Behringer is probably the best deal, with lots of features.

TOLD YA IT AINT CHEAP!!!

there are options on how to save more here, look at powered mixers, which will include a limited graphic EQ, and amps. then you would just need passive speakers. Here is an example. there are 4 pages of these on the musicians friend website.

so, now youve got an idea of the good and the cheap but will do the job. I will answer a couple questions on specific pieces once you narrow it down.

DJTJ 2005

Posted 02 June 2005 - 01:28 PM

DJTJ 2005

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Topic Starter

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4 posts

Ok I got an awesome Sound Card and I am picking up an Amp to run from my computer to the Speakers tomorrow. Thanks a bunch Audioboy, sorry I haven't been on in awhile, just been really busy (and tired). Thanks a bunch for your help.

czar

Posted 13 June 2005 - 03:00 PM

czar

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1 posts

TJ, i don't know what kind of audio card you bought by i hope it's not a Sound Blaster. They are a waste of money for what you're doing, consumer sound cards are meant for gaming and dvd watching, not DJing.. The already mentioned M-Audio and Echo cards are perfect what you're doing, i personally have used the M-Audio and it sounds great. One thing you might want to consider is more than one output, in order for you to "cue" the next track (that's why you see DJ's always taking headphones on and off.) As far as software goes, I greatly reccomend Traktor DJ Studio over everything else (www.native-instruments.de) It is a bit expensive, but the kind of performance you can pull on it will rival some of the much more experienced veteran DJ's out there. DJing is more than playing music, a CD player could do that.. You do need to learn how to effectively beatmatch your music so the crowd never misses a step, that's one of the biggest duties a DJ has. What are you planning on playing? Hip-Hop, House, Trance? A note on Traktor, it's biggest advantage is the ability to set a beat grid exactly to the beat. What does that accomplish? After you prep all your music (the hard part) you can beatmatch songs PERFECTLY in one mouse click. Some may call it cheating, but as long as the crowd is having a good time, who cares, right? Feel free to msg me on aim, screenname is dimitrydj if you have any other questions. Good luck!